Posted by
abetteridea on Monday, August 14, 2006 5:50:44 PM
Here's a frowarded e-mail sent via another member of the armed services. Please take note of the argumentative points as they are probably what 60 minutes should have asked the Iranian president.
I've replaced the soldiers name with
YOUR FRIEND to protect him from any retribution.
All,
In light of recent events, I have composed a letter. Please send it to any of your "moderate" Muslim friends. I watch this nonsense every day, and now it seems to be poking its head into your living room again. Just remember, for every time you hear about something like this, it has been stopped without your knowing about it at least ten or fifteen times. It is always the same "suspect". I, for one, am sick of it. I will need at least a solid year without hearing the words "sectarian", "muslim", "car bomb", IED, VBIED, SVBIED, EFP, SAF, etc. Needless to say, the last ones probably get spoken in my office more than yours. They are abreviations for the different ways they kill each other here. Others include EJK, GSW, IDF, and many others that have no abbreviation. While we listen to the "summaries" people yawn and fill their coffee cups. It is endless. Here is my letter. Hope you all are well.
YOUR FRIEND
Dear Moderate Muslim,
I am writing this letter to try to glean a better understanding of Islam. I would like to ask you a few questions to improve my understanding of Islam. It is constantly reiterated by defenders of Islam that a "small fraction" of Muslims have highjacked Islam as their "cause", yet it does NOT coincide with the tenets of Islam. I am told that it actually contradicts Islam.
So, what exactly are these "radicals" basing their murderous campaign upon, if it is not Islam? They constantly refer to the Holy Koran, and invoke its message when they carry out their attacks on those they consider to be infidels. I watch news footage of other Muslim "celebrating in the streets" upon completion of these attacks. Are these people celebrating members of a faction that falls somewhere between radical and moderate?
What is the ideology that the radicals base their attacks on? I am told that they are "radical" Muslims, but are they not in fact being schooled in the tenets of Islam? Are they not the product of Islamic teaching? What have you, the "moderate" Muslim, been taught that actually counters the belief that killing indiscriminately, aboard airplanes and in crowded markets and cafes is a good thing? What special information have you recieved that apparently escapes the radicals? Are you not using the same book? Is there a different Koran that they read from? Is there that much ambiguity in the Koran that hermeneutics can actually play a part in diciphering whether or not it is in keeping with the Islamic faith to board a plane and blow it up along with all of its occupants. I have studied religion for many years now, and I wonder why it is ONLY Islam that has this "problem" with interpretation.
I am looking for answers from WITHIN Islam. I want a Muslim to explain to me how two people can read the same book (the Koran) and walk away with diametrically opposed interpretations. One of them (you, Moderate Muslim) says that you have read a book that inspires you to live a life of peace. The other, reads the exact same book and walks away with absolute certainty that the message he has received from the SAME book is that he MUST kill all that oppose (or do not subscribe to) the message within that book. Please explain that disparity to me, as I consider it to be important.
Two people hold the same book in their hands. Two people read the exact same words on the page. You extract a message of peace. The other gleans from its pages a didactic mission of murderous intent coupled with absolute confidence in his assured ascendance to paradise. Is it reasonable, for the discerning human, to conclude that you have read the same book? Is it possible that you and I could pick up a copy of "Of Mice and Men", read it, and then come up with these two interpretations: Me: It is a story about a man and his friend that takes care of him because he is dim-witted. You: It is a story about fire-breathing dragons that have come from planet Gromwelliacopse to destroy earth.
Is this reasonable? Can we deduce, that perhaps, within the Holy Koran, there is, in fact, a message to be gleaned, that it is the Mission of the true Muslim to impose his faith upon the world and subject it to its laws. If that message is not accepted by the opposition, the opposition must be killed? Is it possible that that theme is present in the book, or must we be force-fed a silly notion that huge amounts of people have COMPLETELY misinterpreted the message contained within it? I want a moderate Muslim to explain to me how it is possible to arrive at such an interpretation if the book has clearly delineated its PEACEFUL intent.
I want it further explained to me why "moderate" Muslims refuse to unite against the people who have "high jacked" their faith for their own Machiavellian designs. Why, if it is not TRUE Islam, do the "moderates" not wage a Jihad against those who would bring the condemnation of the world upon them? Why does this NOT happen? Please explain, as your stifling silence befuddles me. Why does the Muslim world not stand up and scream at the top of their collective voice, "You murderous lunatics have NOTHING to do with Islam! We collectively condemn your actions and your false claims to the Islamic faith! We hate you and want nothing to do with you! You put a murderous stain on a beautiful religion! You are the true infidels! We condemn you and every person that agrees with, supports or sympathizes with your murderous tendencies! We will hunt you down and kill or imprison every one of you that has brought shame upon our faith!" Why don't I ever hear that??? Why do I instead see Muslims celebrating in the streets on 9/11???
Is it perhaps, that while you think they might be going a little bit too far, you cannot bring yourself to condemn something verbally that you tacitly approve of? Is this the reason? I am asking.
I, for one, think that there were a substantial number of Germans who did not approve of Hitler's murderous tactics. This silent disapproval coupled with inaction, did not protect them from the carpet-bombing that killed them in their homes when the world finally took action. So too will be your fate if you continue to hold the official position of "they are radicals" while they continue to visit terror upon the world. When the world reaches the point where it is not longer possible to "not mention" that the latest terrorist attack was, again, carried out by Muslims, it will be too late. Much like it was too late for the Germans who stood by while their countrymen committed their atrocities. When the world finally tires of this "fanaticism" that seeps from the walls of Islam, it will be ALL MUSLIMS that suffer. All of them. You must join the fight against them if you hope to not be the "innocent victims" of the worlds' collective hatred of your faith. I ask you this "moderate" Muslim, when will YOU condemn the Muslims that are doing this. All of them. Loudly.
I ask you this. Will you join the world in the fight against the people terrorizing us in the name of your faith? I ask you this, because the world needs an answer. We need it soon. If your faith is NOT in keeping with the lunatics who kill everyone they can, indiscriminately, I would recommend that you denounce them post-haste. I would recommend that you join the fight. Pick up a weapon and join the fight. Otherwise, you might be sitting on the same plane they blow up, in the name of YOUR faith. Pick a side moderate Muslim. The time has come. Otherwise you may have to endure while the world fights all of you. Do you want to be the innocent, silent majority that suffers the wrath of the world when it finally reaches the breaking point? Or do you want to show us the TRUE Islam, before it is nothing more than a distant memory in the minds of those who triumphed over its murderous past?
These are just a couple of questions. I anxiously await the answers. Until I hear from you, you will have to excuse me if I assume that you are one of the “fanatics” if you sit next to me on a plane. Please excuse any impoliteness on my part, for until I can tell you apart by your words or deeds, I will treat you all the same: with disdain.
Regards,
YOUR FRIEND